An electronic system design may include numerous design modules, and those design modules may be provided by different organizations. For example, a system designer may prepare some of the modules and obtain others of the modules under license from one or more commercial vendors. Well before the system is implemented, the system designer may evaluate vendors' modules for suitability with other modules of the system. This evaluation may be accomplished by simulating the designer's modules in combination with those provided by other parties.
Oftentimes vendors will provide simulation models for the modules to be evaluated. These models may be high-level models for functional verification or lower-level models for functional and performance verification. In some instances, preparing a suitable simulation model may entail a great deal of effort on the part of the vendor.
A vendor may recoup costs associated with preparing a simulation model with license fees later received for the underlying design. However, in some instances, the evaluator may have no intent to ever obtain a license for the module and may instead be developing a separate product and using the vendor's simulation model to demonstrate compatibility.
The present invention may address one or more of the above issues.